Saida Kouzzi
Saida Kouzzi is a Founding Partner at MRA Mobilising for Rights Associates. A lawyer by training, with substantial field experience in women’s human rights, she works in collaboration with diverse local women’s rights NGOs, development associations and lawyers across the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya) to promote women’s human and legal rights.
At MRA Saida collaborates in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of our multifaceted women’s rights programs, including grassroots level human and legal rights education, legal accompaniment, monitoring and documentation of the justice system, action research, strategic litigation, national law reform and international advocacy.
Her work involves organizing, designing and facilitating training workshops on women’s human rights, as well as writing practical guides and developing other tools and resources for local NGOs. She writes action research and shadow reports and leads training and advocacy missions to United Nations mechanisms for local activists to familiarize themselves with the international human rights system and standards. She also conducts needs assessments, and co-manages our fundraising and media outreach.
Saida is also a consultant to international actors (see our Consulting section), and writer of academic and opinion articles on women’s rights issues. She lectures on women’s human rights as well as on NGO management based on a gender and human rights approach.
Saida worked in several local and national associations, where she held numerous decision-making positions. Her extensive international experience includes work with NGOs and lawyers in India, Egypt, Jordan, Afghanistan, Malaysia, United States, France and Sudan.
She holds a law degree from Mohammed V University in Rabat, where she wrote her thesis on political Islam in the Sudan. She speaks Arabic, French, and English. Contact her at saidak@mrawomen.ma